October 2008

October 27, 2008

When I was in college, I spent a lot of time on motorcycles. Living in an area of great flatness with roads generally following a grid system, we put a great premium on ones that curved and climbed. Those few that we found were deemed "motorcycle roads" for their potential to thrill.

Growing older and moving into performance and sports cars, we sought the same roads -- but their designation remained the same.

On the trip to VIRginia International Raceway in October, I inadvertently stumbled onto one in southern Ohio. (Let's not say I was lost -- just temporarily misplaced.) It was Route 73, and I was lucky enough to follow a tanker truck driver who must know the road intimately. The tanker didn't slow me down, and I was thankful for someone leading through the multiple series of blind corners and rises in the road.

That trip gave me other roads that make driving worthwhile -- I-77 between Beckley, West Virginia, and Route 58 in Virginia, then Route 58 itself (The Crooked Road -- Virginia's Heritage Music Trail) to Danville.

Give them a try. These motorcycle roads are well worth any detour you have to take to drive them!